Gus Johnson and the Fox Broadcast
I’m admittedly not a fan of Fox Sports’s on screen product and prefer ESPN. Having said that and acknowledging Gus Johnson is a Michigan fan as well, but he’s a trash broadcaster. He’s absolutely a frontrunning announcer. His broadcast team discounts and attempts to overplay targeting when it’s a very clear that CTE and head injuries could destroy the sport. I can’t stand him or their crew. Whenever they cover UM games I watch the games in silence. Anyone else have thoughts?
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
Absolutely despise him. He screams whenever the "better" team makes a one yard gain. He is the personification of hyperbole.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:44 PM ^
Yep. Two plays tonight encapsulated this nonsense. The first was when the Minnesota safety turned the wrong way and the crew declared it an excellent route by Wilson. The other was the obvious PI on OSU, after which they said the corner was right on the hip of the receiver. Just stupid observations driven by a need to stand out.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:47 PM ^
I’m glad I’m not the only one but they really really are just bad at this whole football thing. CFB needs an insider on calls at this point akin to a Romo. Just something different than that trash crew.
September 3rd, 2021 at 7:46 AM ^
Something I always hear from gus: Minnesota down 10 in field goal range "it's definitely four down territory for them here."
No, dumby, you kick a field goal and get within a possession.
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:18 AM ^
I thought it was obvious that Minnesota should have been going for onside kicks for the entire 4th quarter.
You had no chance to stop Ohio State so at least give yourself a chance to recover the ball.
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:04 AM ^
Romo is the best right now, imho
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:16 AM ^
They also missed / ignored a blatant block in the back that sprung Olave on the game ending TD. It was literally right on front of the camera as Olave was tip-toeing down the sideline.
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:26 AM ^
Could not believe the refs missed that.
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
It's called (actually non-call) the Gene Smith effect!
September 3rd, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
I don't think that Gus sees or knows the game that well, period. But the knowledgeable guys sit on their hands a lot, too, possibly because one might call a foul on many, many plays.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:39 PM ^
I dread games on Fox. I think Johnson and his team are the worst in the business. The biggest problem is that they don’t understand how to let games breathe. The space is just constantly filled by pointless hype and inaccurate analysis. Johnson in particular seems to endlessly promote the play of whichever team is ranked higher despite what’s actually occurring on the field.
The role of broadcasters should be insightful accessories to the game, not the feature. God I miss Keith Jackson.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:58 PM ^
Whatever happened to Keith Jackson? We haven't heard much from him lately.
September 3rd, 2021 at 6:42 AM ^
Whoa Nellie!
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:03 AM ^
Exactly right. Just let a game breathe.
September 3rd, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^
the diatribe about Chris Olave that was uncomfortable it lasted so long...they spent 3 minutes trying to call him fast but not that fast but smooth in variou sways.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:40 PM ^
A…J…Henning
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Who knew Jim Nantz had an MGoBlog burner account.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Hahaha. I miss Verne to be honest. 2011 Bama/LSU and the Kick 6 are my most favorite broadcast moments if I’m being honest. Not a fan of Nantz so much.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:02 AM ^
Nessler is thankfully a real good replacement for Verne
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
I miss Nessler on ESPN for sure
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Dude... Gus is the man! Him and Joel are a great tandem. I'm not a fan of Fox's broadcasts of the games either (seems like they put on more commercials?) but Gus's energy for a game makes it fun to watch!
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
I like watching/hearing Gus call games that aren't Michigan games.
September 3rd, 2021 at 8:47 AM ^
Fake energy. Kind of like old Vitale who is an overly conscious caricature of who he was when he was younger.
I mean, they spent five minutes discussing why the last review showed a helmet to the head defenseless WR (who collapsed immediately with the hit to head) and this bagger waits and waits out the conversation, long after the review, then screams, “This is American football!” That isn’t exciting or natural—or correct.
September 3rd, 2021 at 9:27 AM ^
Like when he is screaming "and down the sideline he goes..." only to gain two yards? Gus is annoying AF and couple his loudness with his lack of football knowledge, and you get threads like these.
September 3rd, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
I agree! I think they are great! Way better than Herbie and Fowler. Gus brings excitement and makes it fun!
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
I totally agree. Compared to the anodyne, sterile, robotic, monotone calls of most announcers, I don't mind someone who's a little over-the-top excited. It's fun.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:42 PM ^
I prefer understated to bombastic, so Gus doesn't really do it for me.
What really fries me is how many calls osu gets/doesn't get called for. I'm not a crazy person. It's not that I love Michigan football. I watch a lot of games and the officiating disparity with that team seems insane.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:28 AM ^
“What really fries me is how many calls osu gets/doesn't get called for. I'm not a crazy person. …I watch a lot of games and the officiating disparity with that team seems insane.”
This. It really takes a lot of the fun out of watching these games anymore.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:34 AM ^
OSU got away with several PI penalties. OTH, MN offensive line was holding badly all night. It was not a great game as officiating went - for either side.
September 3rd, 2021 at 6:37 AM ^
I watched I watched a little less than a quarter I think. The past interference on Minnesota's first touchdown by the Ohio State DB who just put his arms up and pushed the receiver through the end zone was ridiculous that there was no flag. Then on Minnesota's next touchdown two plays with obvious and significant pass interference and they threw the flag on the third pass which was nowhere near as bad. It was like they finally remembered that tackling the receiver before the ball gets to him in the end zone is a penalty and you need to throw a flag.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:42 PM ^
I'm not a Gus Johnson fan.
Idk what to do about the targeting. Like, the receiver caught the ball but had his head down and was stumbling forward. Is the defense supposed to just let them go rather than try and stop him? I guess he could've tried to go for an ankle tackle. I'm not sure, but if they're serious about head injuries they can't let hits like that happen.
Ref blow the whistle if they think it's gonna happen like a football infield fly rule?
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:48 PM ^
But that’s the thing. You can hate the rule and say it needs to be changed. But that was clearly forcible contact to the head which IS targeting as currently defined.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:19 AM ^
well, i certainly agree it was targeting as it is defined by the rules.
But it just seems with things moving so quickly in the game, and with every yard mattering, situations like this are basically statistically certain to happen over and over (which we see), and people not trying to smash someone in the head are going to continue smashing people in the head, perhaps incidentally.
But what's the good in that? I'm sure it happens less frequently now with the rules in place, but the goal should be to remove these hits to be almost nonexistent. And that's gonna require a creative solution if they're serious about it.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:48 AM ^
You're right, and the creative solution has already been developed. Hold everyone responsible for Targeting except players for Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama.
September 3rd, 2021 at 10:58 AM ^
But they aren’t serious about it.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
The defender drops his head. If he "sees what he hits", the it shouldn't be targeting, but he didn't. The B1G refs doing the game certainly know that OSU plays Oregon next and wouldn't want the B1G team to be at a competitive disadvantage by losing a starter for half of the upcoming out of conference game.
September 2nd, 2021 at 11:49 PM ^
The defense is supposed to tackle the offensive player. Put your face in his chest, wrap him up with your arms, and drive through with your legs.
The defender should not try to hit him like a missile, helmet first, chin down, and hope that the collision knocks the player down. That’s poor form tackling and is dangerous to both players.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:27 AM ^
They haven’t taught from tackling like you originally described since the 90s.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:58 AM ^
I didn't see that play, so I'm not referring to that specifically but sometimes it's literally impossible to put your face in a guy's chest. The problem is the offense is allowed to target essentially. Guys plunge forward with their heads down all the time. People say they want rugby tackling and I'm no rugby expert but you see guys run upright. I'm pretty sure you can't just bend over and smash into a defender with the top of your head.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:09 AM ^
Here's the hit. Given that he's 1) coming at him at an angle and 2) the WR has his face down (and upper torso facing parallel to the ground), I'm not sure how you're gonna be sure you can get your face in his chest with a 100% success rate.
I guess the best situation would be to go for the wrap up at the waist or legs.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:08 AM ^
I can't possibly see how that targeting wasn't called. it was the very definition of targeting.
A hit against a defensive player, B leading with the helmet C a hit to the head or neck area. It checked all 3 boxes. At first I thought they didn't review it but apparently they did.
It begs the question, was the call made because of the stickers on the helmet?
Some team are adopting rugby style tackling OSU isn't one if them.
Apparently they don't need to,
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:42 AM ^
And it was particularly galling that the announcers defended the hit and denied it was targeting. The media and the conferences cannot be trying to protect players when hits like this are not called (or even reviewed, in this case). The announcers, Gus I think, decried the idea that the OSU player might miss playing time. But what about the receiver and the playing time he is likely going to miss for a concussion. Either these guys just don't care, or they're too stupid to get it. At least Joe was willing to stand up for the player who was hit.
September 3rd, 2021 at 4:23 AM ^
Even worse that the receiver was obviously unconscious before he even hit the ground. This couldn’t have been a more blatant targeting call that resulted in the receiver literally being knocked unconscious. Targeting was created to get rid of hits just like this. Instead you have OSU players and coaches celebrating on the sidelines. Joke.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
Exactly this. The player’s arms go limp after getting earholed. Extremely dangerous hit, and textbook targeting as spelled out in the rule book.
The fact that it wasn’t penalized after a review endangers players by saying these hits are allowed. If I’m that kid’s parents, I’m suing the conference.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:05 AM ^
Sometimes following the rules makes it harder to do your job. Why do you think defensive linemen don't burst through the line before the ball is snapped? Certainly seems like that's the best way to get to the QB...
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:11 AM ^
well that's clearly not an analogous situation
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:35 AM ^
Why not? By the rules you're not allowed to tackle by shoving your helmet into someone's earhole. If you can't tackle someone without breaking that rule then tough shit, you can't tackle them.
I don't get all the whinging about "what are the players are supposed to do?" It's pretty simple, don't throw your skull directly at someone.
But if it's not going to get called, they're going to keep doing it, and like tonight people are going to get knocked out.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:58 AM ^
I honestly can't tell if you're being serious.
If two high-level athletes are running full speed, and the one with the ball has his head down, and the rule says you can't forcibly hit him in the head, then a certain amount of tacklers, despite their best efforts, are going to smash him in the head. Now this next part may surprise you, but unlike someone going offsides before the snap where you simply blow a whistle and stop the play, high-impact hits to the head can cause serious and permanent damage, so we try to avoid those from ever happening in the first place, which is why there is a targeting penalty.
So, if you have a "defenseless" receiver who is stumbling forward with his head facing down parallel to the ground, you can 1) make it illegal to hit him at all or 2) make it illegal to hit him forcibly in the head or neck, but accept that this is still going to happen fairly often (in fact, it happens several hundred times per season). What good is a penalty after the fact if you have a concussion? You might accept that it's a dangerous game and shit is going to happen, but if you're actually serious about getting rid of these hits, it's going to take a more aggressive approach than a 15 yard penalty.
September 3rd, 2021 at 6:52 AM ^
I think maybe we're on the same page. It seems like "forcible contact to the head or neck" is pretty clear, and if they enforce a strong penalty like an ejection on a regular basis I would expect players to actually adjust. But they avoid doing that at all costs for some reason, so players just keep doing it.
I was inarticulate with my previous posts, but if they were inconsistent about players being in the backfield before the snap, some would just do it and accept the risk. You're obviously right that beyond that the situations aren't the same at all.
September 3rd, 2021 at 9:09 AM ^
The thing is, imagine neither of them *had* helmets. Would the Ohio State player launch his head at the Gopher player? I'm pretty sure the answer is no.
But players have become so used to using their helmets at weapons, we find ourselves arguing over and over again whether the poor defender had any choice. Of course he did! Get him at the waist, or the feet. Or don't tackle him at all!
That may, of course, allow the offensive player to get some extra yards. But either we're going to protect (both offensive and defensive) players from possible concussions, or we're not.
Arguing that a player had no choice but to tackle a player skull-first is nonsense.